The Fox's Son

Chapter 56 - Travel Buddy

"And then Jaken-sama's eyes grew so big, they looked like.....like....." Rin paused as she tried to find the right words. "Like they were going to pop out of his head." she said exuberantly as she moved her arms around excitedly trying to further emphasize her point.

Naruto smiled as he had to steady the girl before she fell off of Ah-Uh. There was no doubt it would have been a rather painful fall. He chuckled. It reminded him of the times when he would talk to Lord Third......before the incident of course.

The red head had been traveling with the child for two days now. To say it hadn't been amusing would be an understatement. The child was vibrant and full of life, and liked to tell him stories of her adventures with the demon lord. When she wasn't talking, she was humming or she would pick flowers during their breaks. She was a happy child and could brighten anyone's day with her mere presence. She was a ball of sunshine.

His mind drifted back to what he had felt the other night. He felt him again. He wondered where he was. As a matter of fact, he wondered what he was doing here. How did he even get here? He pulled himself out of his pondering and turned his attentions back the child.

He smiled at her beaming face as he released her, putting a single finger to his chin as he assumed a thinking pose. "Hmmmm......" he said. "Can you show me just how big his eyes were? I really can't picture it." he said in feign ignorance, fooling with her.

The little girl nodded. She cupped her eyes in her hands, forming her palms into 'O's' while trying to widen her eyes as much as possible. "They were this big!" she said.

Naruto laughed loud and heartily at this. Tears of mirth fell from his eyes as she blinked at him, her face contorted in confusion. When he finally calmed down, he smiled at her confused expression before ruffling her hair.

"You're a good girl, Rin." he said as he ruffled her hair. She seemed elated hearing that, giving him a radiant smile.

He returned her smile. Their little moment was interrupted when a low growl rumbled through the area. Rin looked down at her stomach and blushed cutely. Naruto raised an eyebrow at her and had an amuse smile on his face.

"Well now. If I didn't know better, I'd say someone was hungry." He said with a chuckle. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked as he looked down at her with a sheepish and slightly apologetic expression.

"Ummm...." Rin started as she began to fiddle with her fingers. "Rin didn't want you to think that Rin was a b-bu-bur...." she said as she struggled to form the words she had always heard Jaken say about her.

"Burden?" Naruto asked as he was finally able to catch on to watch she was trying to say.

Rin smiled cheerfully, as if he had just made a brilliant discovery, and nodded her head jauntily. "Master Jaken always says that since Rin is a weak nigen, Rin is a b-bu-" she said as she tried to pronounce it again.

"Burden." He said again.

"Yup." Rin said. "To Sesshomaru-sama." she finished.

Naruto slightly frowned at this. He made a mental note to dismember the incompetent frog when he met him. "And what does Lord Sesshomaru say?" he inquired.

The girl seemed to be in deep thought for a moment before she responded. "Sesshomaru-sama doesn't say much of anything." she answered. "But Master Jaken always has something bad happen to him when he finishes saying that."

Naruto raised an eye brow at this, slightly interested in how the demon lord responded to his servant. "Like?" he prodded.

"Well......there was this one time where a rock hit him in the head. He usually goes to sleep when that happens." the girl said, saying that last part kind of thoughtfully. "Then there was this one time a tree fell on his head. Then another time Ah-Uh stepped on him and one time......" she was about to continue but was interrupted by Naruto.